Ferrari is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Recently, Ferrari has threatened to sue German fashion designer Philipp Plein. The company’s lawyers have sent a notice to Plein, unimpressed with the use of the Ferrari car in some of the Instagram posts.
Plein owns a green-colored Ferrari 812 Superfast had posted images and videos of his sneakers on the hood of his personal supercar. The designer has made a series of Instagram posts with his green Ferrari in the frame and has recently posted a photo of the letter sent by the Ferrari lawyers, counsel Fabrizio Sanna of Orsingher Ortu Avvocati Associati.
The law firm representing the Italian auto giant quickly dispatched a letter demanding Plein to take the pictures under question down from his Instagram handle within 48 hours, calling them “distasteful” and incompatible with the brand-image.
The Verge reported on Friday, the Italian car company has said that Plein‘s behavior has tarnished the reputation of Ferrari‘s brands and caused Ferrari further material damage.
Plein calls it a ‘love letter’ in his Instagram post has refused to delete his posts in question. He has justified his Instagram posts stating that the car was his property because he bought it with his own money and posted its pictures on his personal handle.
According to The Fashion Law, Ferrari might just have a strong case here. “While it is generally acceptable to make use of brands’ trademarks in a descriptive, decorative, or other, non-source identifying capacity (which is why they tend to appear in movies, music videos, and even other brands’ ad campaigns without issue), there appears to be more going on here than that. Just as in the U.S., the holder of a registered trademark in Italy has the right to prevent third parties from using identical or similar trademarks for identical or similar products or services,”
